tech – Progress Nothing Lesshttp://progressnothingless.com
Your time is now!Tue, 26 Sep 2017 21:15:14 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.2Listen to your favorite music for up to 10 hours with this JBL Bluetooth speakerhttp://progressnothingless.com/listen-to-your-favorite-music-for-up-to-10-hours-with-this-jbl-bluetooth-speaker/
Sat, 12 Aug 2017 15:12:05 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4541Image: JBL Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. These JBL Flip 3 speakers were made to withstand all of your activities in all kinds of weather. Whether youre just hanging in your living room or taking a swim by the pool, the durable and …

Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission.

These JBL Flip 3 speakers were made to withstand all of your activities in all kinds of weather. Whether youre just hanging in your living room or taking a swim by the pool, the durable and splash-proof fabric will protect the tech during every adventure.

Through sunny days and rain nights, this speaker can handle every drop and spill that comes at it. Feel free to even clean it with some tap water.

Play time is up to 10 hours and can get even louder by building your own ecosystem of speakers you can connect multiple JBLs together to amplify the noise. The Flip 3 also has a built-in-noise canceling phone feature for taking calls at the touch of a button.

Check out this next generation, best-selling speaker here for only $79.

]]>The computer on the ISS is about to get a whole lot betterhttp://progressnothingless.com/the-computer-on-the-iss-is-about-to-get-a-whole-lot-better/
Sat, 12 Aug 2017 12:59:21 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4538Image: BRESNIK HANDOUT/REX/Shutterstock No matter where you are on Earth, your computer just works. As long as you have power (or a battery) and a broadband internet connection, your device is good to go, with access to essentially the computing power of the entire world. That’s not true in space. Computers on the International Space …

No matter where you are on Earth, your computer just works. As long as you have power (or a battery) and a broadband internet connection, your device is good to go, with access to essentially the computing power of the entire world.

That’s not true in space. Computers on the International Space Station need to connect via a laggy, bandwidth-starved connection that’s beamed from the surface basically satellite internet.

If you’ve ever used satellite internet, you know how much it sucks. That means, for computers on the ISS, they don’t have instant access to the kind of cloud computing that we take for granted here on Earth: When you ask Siri or Alexa a question, for example, your speech is digitized, processed in the cloud, and responded to in real time. Try that on the ISS, and you might wait minutes for the answer, if it works at all.

HP Enterprise is looking to give space computing a huge upgrade with a new kind of supercomputer. Launching on Monday in a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Spaceborne Computer will add some serious computing power to the ISS a general-purpose machine that scientists will be able to use to crunch numbers without relying on the station’s internet connection.

HP Enterprise’s Spaceborne Computer, which will finally bring modern computing to the ISS.

Image: HP Enterprise

“This is a general-purpose high-performance computing Linux-based system,” says Mark Fernandez, Americas Technology Officer at HPE and leading payload engineer for the project. “All of the top 500 [supercomputers] run similar to this. Scientists will be able to to focus on science and not the networking … the downlink internet from the ISS isn’t that good.”

But HPE’s fancy space PC isn’t just about putting a few teraflops in orbit. It’s an entirely new approach to building computers for space missions, and if it’s successful, it could mean the computers on board NASA spacecraft won’t always be notoriously bad and outdated.

Computers built for space have prioritized reliability above all after all, it’s pretty hard for IT to respond to a help desk request if the problem is 250 miles up. Not only do the chips need to be proven, but the machines themselves need to be ruggedized for extreme cold, cosmic rays, and even solar flares.

“Currently it can take years to harden a computer,” says Fernandez. “By the time it’s finished its mission, it could be three to five generations old.”

The Spaceborne Computer, however, is different. It foregoes much of the physical ruggedizing for software that will theoretically compensate for conditions on the ISS throttling its performance in reaction to space-based radiation, for instance. It doesn’t need the full rugged treatment partly because it’s meant to be used for only a year; after that, its rack design (also new to the ISS) means it can be easily swapped out for a new and improved model.

You can see where this is going: If the machine successfully survives the rigors of space, the swaps can continue indefinitely, keeping the system on board the ISS current and modern something virtually unheard of in space missions. Typically, researchers on space missions have brought their own devices for general computing tasks, but there’s only so much power you can pack into a laptop.

There’s another mission HPE’s Spaceborne Computer is auditioning for: traveling to Mars would take about a year, and since the distance to Earth is obviously much greater than anything in orbit, the standalone computing power on that spacecraft will matter even more. And if HPE’s experiment is a success, humanity’s first Mars explorers might not have to settle for the computing power of an Apple IIe.

]]>Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 might come with a pressure-sensitive screenjust like the iPhonehttp://progressnothingless.com/samsungs-galaxy-note-8-might-come-with-a-pressure-sensitive-screenjust-like-the-iphone/
Thu, 10 Aug 2017 16:53:54 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4484Samsung’s on a streak of not copying the iPhone, with original features like curved edges and iris scanners actually outpacing innovation at Apple. But that could end with its upcoming Galaxy Note 8. A new report from The Investorclaims the Korean electronic giant’s follow-up to last year’s disastrous Note 7 will come with a pressure-sensitive …

A new report from The Investorclaims the Korean electronic giant’s follow-up to last year’s disastrous Note 7 will come with a pressure-sensitive screen. The screen technology is said to be similar to the iPhone’s display, which has supported 3D Touch since the iPhone 6S launched in 2015.

The new display, which is able to detect how hard you press it, will be used to “replace all the functionality of a home button and open a hidden menu with shortcuts to different features.”

It’s unclear if the new screen will replace the thin pressure-sensitive area that only covers the bottom portion of the Galaxy S8’s display. But it’s better late than never since Android Nougat already supports the special displays.

Copying the iPhone’s pressure-sensitive screen isn’t even the worst part. The report also says Samsung’s going to call it … 3D touch. Oh boy, do you hear that? That’s Apple’s big scary lawyers getting ready to leap out from behind their desks and run straight to Samsung HQ.

Samsung will have to face the laughs of a billion Apple fanboys for being so unoriginal, but there might not even be a courtroom battle between the two tech titans.

Eagle-eyed readers will recall that Huawei’s Mate S, the world’s first Android phone to copy the iPhone and sport a pressure-sensitive display, also called its technology 3D touch (with a lowercase “t”). If Huawei can get away with the name, perhaps Samsung could, too.

Despite initial excitement, 3D Touch hasn’t exactly become a must-use feature on iPhone. Apple has yet to announce a compelling feature that makes use of it. A long-press works just the same on iOS and Android devices that don’t have pressure-sensitive screens.

There’s not much else we don’t already know about the Note 8. We know that it’ll be announced on Aug. 23 and The Investor claims it’ll launch on Sept. 15, which matches reports that the phone would launch in mid-September to beat the Apple’s iPhone 8.

Several comprehensive leaks suggest the Note 8 will be a pricey beast of a phone. It’ll reportedly come with a 6.3-inch display, Snapdragon 835 chip, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, dual cameras that might offer even better optical zoom than the iPhone 7 Plus, and an S Pen with enhanced stylus features.

The one thing that won’t get a significant improvement is battery life. Samsung’s reportedly going with a 3,300 mAh battery, which is smaller than the S8+’s 3,500 mAh battery. It’d also be smaller than the Note 7’s battery, which has the same capacity as the S8+.

The smaller battery might turn some Samsung fans off, but there probably isn’t much to worry about. Battery capacity and longevity aren’t always directly related. Software optimizations and power efficiencies from the chipset can make up for a smaller battery. Just look at the iPhone; iOS and Apple’s custom A-series chips allow it to last just as long or longer than Android phones with bigger batteries.

Whatever Samsung announces later this month, it’s sure to attract the world’s attention. The company will no doubt boast about the phone’s myriad new features, but all it really needs to do is make sure there aren’t any explosions again. If the safe S8’s anything to go by, then Samsung should be in good shape with the Note 8.

]]>Facebook’s Groups app had millions of users — so why did it kill it?http://progressnothingless.com/facebooks-groups-app-had-millions-of-users-so-why-did-it-kill-it/
Thu, 10 Aug 2017 14:54:22 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4481Image: mashable composite/facebook For the last few months, Mark Zuckerberg and other top Facebook execs have been gushing about groups. The way they see it, Facebook Groups, which let like-minded users communicate outside of the main News Feed, is an integral part of social network’s future as it passes the 2 billion user mark. So …

The way they see it, Facebook Groups, which let like-minded users communicate outside of the main News Feed, is an integral part of social network’s future as it passes the 2 billion user mark.

So it may have come as a surprise to see the company quietly removed its standalone Groups app from the App Store and Google Play last week. If the social network is suddenly so into groups, why would it pull the app dedicated to the feature?

In a statement, the company said it made the decision to discontinue the app because “we’ve found that we can do more with and for the community by investing in the main Facebook app.”

That may be the case, but there are a number of other reasons why the app had to go as well.

The app was first launched in 2014, when Groups was already becoming one of Facebook’s more popular features, and it was also around this time that Mark Zuckerberg started talking about “unbundling” the main Facebook app.

The Groups app.

Image: facebook

The company had already started forcing people over to Messenger, its standalone chat app, earlier that year and, since Groups already had 700 million monthly active users, it was the next logical target for “unbundling.”

But even at its peak, Groups was never as successful as Messenger. It was always optional, for one, so users never had to download it in the first place. Still, it had a large following. It had about 15 million downloads across both app stores worldwide, according to Sensor Tower, and even in its last month in the App Store in July, it managed to nab about 250,000 downloads.

Despite this, it seems at some point Facebook decided to stop putting resources into Groups. The app stopped getting regular updates in the fall of 2016 and, even before then, its App Store reviews were overwhelmingly negative, with users complaining about frequent crashed and bugs making the app unusable.

“I really want to be able to just have this app to keep up with friends and not have to actually go on Facebook. But the app is currently pretty terrible and it drives me crazy,” one reviewer wrote.

That may actually get at the heart of why Facebook decided it had to kill the app it provided too easy of a way for people to use the social network without ever touching the main app. Facebook’s main app and website is where the company makes the bulk of its ad revenue so it’s not surprising they’d want to encourage people to go there rather than a standalone app.

And if Facebook really thinks Groups are such an important part of Facebook’s future success, it needs to send the message that it’s an important part of Facebook’s core service not something people can use in place of it.

]]>Facebook killed Lifestage, its unpopular app just for teenshttp://progressnothingless.com/facebook-killed-lifestage-its-unpopular-app-just-for-teens/
Wed, 09 Aug 2017 12:54:10 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4448RIP Image: facebook Facebook has killed yet another one of its Snapchat clones. The social network quietly yanked Lifestage, the bizarre Snapchat-like app that was only for high schoolers, from the App Store last week. SEE ALSO: Snapchat is becoming the social network it never wanted to be The app was launched less than a …

The app was launched less than a year ago but, like Facebook’s many other attempts at replicating Snapchat, Lifestage never gained much traction with the teens it was hoping to lure away from Snapchat.

In fact, the app was so unpopular that it took several days before anyone even noticed it had been removed from the App Store and Google Play Store.

Image: Facebook

Facebook had tapped a 19-year-old staffer to create the app likely in the hopes that a teenage product lead could be more successful at reaching high schoolers than previous efforts. But despite the “high schoolers only” gimmick, the app never saw much success. It had mostly one-star reviews at the time it was pulled and ranked #1,392 in the App Store’s social media category at the time it was pulled, according to data from App Annie.

In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson said the company had “learned a lot from Lifestage.”

“We originally launched Lifestage to make it easier for teens in the US to connect with others at their school by creating a video profile with content for all of things that make up their identity. Teens continue to make up an important part of the global community on Facebook, and we’ve learned a lot from Lifestage. We will continue to incorporate these learnings into features in the main Facebook app.

Lifestage wasn’t the only app Facebook has recently removed. The company also pulled its standalone Groups app, which it launched back in 2014. That may sound surprising, given how much Mark Zuckerberg and other execs have been hyping Facebook’s community-driven groups feature in recent months, but in a statement the company said it was instead focusing on building out the groups feature in its main app and website.

WATCH: What it’s like going for a spin on the ‘Hoverboard’

]]>Effortlessly brew your own loose-leaf tea at the push of a buttonhttp://progressnothingless.com/effortlessly-brew-your-own-loose-leaf-tea-at-the-push-of-a-button/
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 20:57:12 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4430Image: Gourmia Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. Don’t waste your precious time boiling water and dunking a teabag have a machine brew your tea for you. If convenience is everything, the futuristic T-Square from Gourmia will leave you with a remarkably rich and …

Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission.

Don’t waste your precious time boiling water and dunking a teabag have a machine brew your tea for you. If convenience is everything, the futuristic T-Square from Gourmia will leave you with a remarkably rich and satisfying cup of tea at the push of a button.

All you have to do is fill the tank with water, add your favorite loose-leaf tea to the basket, select a preset mode, and you’re good to go.

The iTea ‘broil-to-brew’ technology was designed to produce consistent results so you never have to worry about a weaker-than-expected cup. You can choose from refresh, light, medium, and strong with the pre-programmed settings which are all carefully monitored for a quality experience. The stainless steel brewing chamber is also guaranteed to protect the tea’s natural flavors.

Image: Gourmia

But don’t stop there, the machine also works with your favorite ground coffees you can brew up to three different strengths of coffee. Your mornings just got so much better.

]]>Samsung rumored to hold the Galaxy Note 8’s release to build up even more hypehttp://progressnothingless.com/samsung-rumored-to-hold-the-galaxy-note-8s-release-to-build-up-even-more-hype/
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 18:46:27 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4427The Galaxy Note 8 will finally be revealed later this month at a Samsung Unpacked event in New York City, but it might take longer than expected for the phone to arrive to the general public. The latest info from the rumor mill pegs Sept. 15 as the Note 8’s general release date, more than …

The report, which was first spotted by Forbes in the US, notes that the Sept. 15 availability is a week longer than Samsung took between the unveiling and release of the now-disgraced Galaxy Note 7. The sources claim that the extra time between launch and release will be used to bombard consumers with an aggressive ad campaign to build up the hype, and to produce as many of the devices as possible to avoid shortages.

The release date was the final piece of the Note 8 puzzle in a production cycle that has been plagued with leaks and rumors. The phone’s impressive final specs and even what appeared to be some marketing images of the device were revealed shortly after the Samsung Unpacked announcement, leaving hungry Samsung fans with little mystery ahead of the event.

There’s no extra info about pricing or pre-order dates in the new report, but other recent leaks have suggested that the Note 8 will open for reservations on Aug. 25 for 999 (about $1,778).

These are all unofficial reports, however, so nothing’s truly confirmed until Samsung pulls back the curtain onstage at the end of the month. It’s not a bad strategy for the company to take, though with the steaming legacy of the Note 7 to overcome and the iPhone 8 likely to be coming soon after, the Note 8 should launch with the best possible conditions for its success.

]]>Tech gadgets under $20 that you’ll keep coming back tohttp://progressnothingless.com/tech-gadgets-under-20-that-youll-keep-coming-back-to/
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 16:46:52 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4424Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. There are plenty of products out there that cost less than $20, but most of them never get used. A USB drive that works in outer space? Cant imagine a situation where that would come in handy unless …

Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission.

There are plenty of products out there that cost less than $20, but most of them never get used. A USB drive that works in outer space? Cant imagine a situation where that would come in handy unless perhaps you’re Richard Branson. Are you Richard Branson?

Anyway, here are 20 products under $20 that you will actually use every day.

Need somewhere to put your headphones when youre not using them? Of course you do. This sturdy yet flexible hook lets you hang two sets of headphones under your desk so theyre out of the way when you dont need them. Pretty handy.

Plain water is boring, but this bottle infuses it with your favorite fruit, vegetable, or herb. Perfect for those of us who are trying to cut out sugary drinks, but still crave a beverage with some flavor.

Fingers are great for many things, but theyre no substitute for a good stylus. This stylus can be used for all kinds of tablet activities, like taking notes, drawing, typing, and playing games. It also retracts when its not in use so you dont have to worry about it accidentally breaking.

Carrying around iPhone and Android cables is a pain. You know whats not a pain? One cable that does both. Perfect for anyone that swings both ways or has random micro-USB gadgets like Kindles or headphones.

You never know when youre gonna need survival gear, so you might as well keep it on you at all times. This rugged keychain contains 1.5 meters of military-grade emergency braided paracord and flint and steel firestarters. Who else can say their keys are capable of holding 550 pounds?

If a regular iPhone charger and an external battery had a baby, it would be this. You can plug the NomadPlus into the wall and charge your iPhone normally, or you can take it with you and charge your smartphone anywhere. It also has a USB port for charging non-Apple devices too.

The Magic Mouse is pretty magical, so its only logical that a grip designed for it would be magical too. MagicGrips widens and relaxes your grip and gives you big concave surfaces to rest your fingers. Its great for all hand sizes, especially big ones.

Covering your laptop camera with tape so you dont get hacked makes sense. Its just ugly. Protect your privacy in style with these sleek, modern camera covers. This set comes with six covers and works with your desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

If you love cameras and coffee, then this is the perfect gift for you. It stirs your drink for you, and works with hot and cold liquids. The only thing it doesnt do is take pictures, but that’s what your phone is for, right?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should know it’s unsafe to look down at your phone while driving. Get this mount and you can easily put it at eye level. It even comes with a camera screw on the back so you can attach it to a tripod. Plus, it’s pretty.

Some of us like to spin things while we fidget, but thats so last month. With its ergonomic shape, rust-resistant construction, and quiet spins, the Orbiter is the better way to get a handle on distractions.

Wired headphones get the job done, but wireless headphones can make you feel way more streamlined. Whether youre at the gym or on the road, youll get an unparalleled listening experience with the BK Sport Bluetooth Headphones. Durable and tangle-proof, youll wonder how you ever lived without them.

Nothings worse than packing a salad in the morning and discovering hours later that its soggy and gross. Especially when your coworkers just ordered burritos. The Salad-to-Go Container has multiple compartments so everything stays separate until youre ready to mix it together.

Smartphone cameras are great, but they limit you to one lens. With the Acesori kit, you can easily give your phone camera a DSLR feel with attachable fish eye, wide angle, or macro lenses. You can quickly change them on the fly and capture all kinds of shots that you could never capture before.

]]>The Galaxy S8 Active is the beefier version of Samsung’s flagship phonehttp://progressnothingless.com/the-galaxy-s8-active-is-the-beefier-version-of-samsungs-flagship-phone/
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 14:39:16 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4421The Galaxy S8 Active is the beefier version of Samsung's flagship phone Image: AT&T, mashable composite Every year, for the last four years, Samsung has released a tougher and more rugged version of its flagship Galaxy S phone and this year’s no different. Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 Active is the S8’s more durable cousin. Like …

]]>The Galaxy S8 Active is the beefier version of Samsung's flagship phone

Image: AT&T, mashable composite

Every year, for the last four years, Samsung has released a tougher and more rugged version of its flagship Galaxy S phone and this year’s no different. Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 Active is the S8’s more durable cousin.

Like all previous Active phones, the S8 Active is for people who hate coddling their devices. The phone’s marquee feature, however, is not how rugged it is, but its huge, long-lasting battery.

Available exclusively on AT&T again for $28.34 monthly installments paid over 30 months through the carriers Next service plan, the S8 Active takes everything that makes the S8 great and wraps it in an extra layer of protection. Pre-orders start Monday and the phone comes out on Aug. 11.

Samsung says the S8 Active’s made of military-grade materials, and in addition to water and dust-resistance, it’s got a metal frame and bumper that helps with absorbing shock and shielding against abrasions.

The lack of physical navigation buttons below the screen is notably different with the S8 Active’s design compared to previous phones in the family. Because the Active line is made for the outdoors it’s always had physical buttons instead of touch-sensitive capacitive ones so that people who are wearing gloves or have fingers that are dirty or wet can still press them. Also missing is a programmable “Action key” button, which lets you launch an app or action to it.

There is a ‘ button like on the S8, but considering how behind it is compared to Google’s Assistant or Siri, the button might as well not be there.

The screen’s flat, not curved like on the S8 and S8+

Image: at&T, samsung

Fingerprint sensor is still on the back

Image: AT&T, Samsung

The phone’s still got a 5.8-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display, but it loses the curved edges that make the S8 and S8+ so sleek. That said, the screen’s shatter-resistant so it should be able to withstand some serious drops just like Motorola’s Moto Z2 Force. Just don’t expect any kind of serious scratch-resistance, though.

Underneath the hood, you’ll find the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage with microSD card slot.

The 12-megapixel f/1.7 rear camera and 8-megapixel f/1.7 selfie camera are unchanged. The fingerprint sensor is also in the same location: on the back next to the camera.

The S8 Active looks like it has all the right stuff. But as I mentioned earlier, it’s biggest feature (literally) is its giant 4,000 mAh battery. It’s the same capacity as last year’s S7 Active and significantly larger than the S8 and S8+, which have conservative 3,000 mAh and 3,500 mAh batteries, respectively. Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 reportedly won’t even have as big of a battery (rumors say it’ll only have 3,300 mAh).

Battery life has always been one of the Active phones’ best features, and that won’t be changing anytime soon. If you don’t mind a thicker, bulkier phone all for a bigger battery that could probably last two full days, the S8 Active seems like a good choice. It’s just too bad it’s exclusive to AT&T again. Maybe you can hunt down an unlocked version if Samsung ever makes one.

]]>Disney’s mobile games illegally collect kids’ personal information, lawsuit claimshttp://progressnothingless.com/disneys-mobile-games-illegally-collect-kids-personal-information-lawsuit-claims/
Sat, 05 Aug 2017 14:42:40 +0000http://progressnothingless.com/?p=4338This doesn't look good for Disney. Image: Aviation Images/REX/Shutterstock Disney is facing harsh questions about its mobile games. The company is allegedly violating privacy laws regulating how children’s personal data can be collected and used, according to a lawsuit filed this week in federal court. SEE ALSO: How Sarahah became one of the most popular …

The class action lawsuit claims that ad-tracking software embedded within Disney’s mobile games illegally keeps tabs on its users and makes personal identifying information of children available to third-parties.

While ad tracking software is commonplace in the App Store, the FTC has strict regulations about how and when internet companies can collect data about children under the age of 13. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco District Court Thursday, says Disney has violated these rules by using ad tech that potentially exposes identifying information about the children who play its games. (Silicon Valley fans, will be familiar with the federal rules known as COPPA, which turned Dinesh into a sweaty heap before he pawned the problem off on Hooli.)

The suit, filed by a mother and her child, centers around a game called Disney Princess Palace Pets but names a number of other popular titles, including Disney Crossy Road, Where’s the Water, and Club Penguin Island, that allegedly use the same ad-tracking practices.

A Disney representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit asks for damage figures to be determined at trial.